Hooded infant undergarment

ABSTRACT

The apparatuses and methods according to the various embodiments of the present invention provide a thermal regulating infant safety undergarment. The garment is preferably lightweight but insulating and is essentially a one piece garment. A hood, which may be detachable, is sized to allow for conformance to the infant&#39;s head and to provide a snug fit to enhance the insulating aspect of the undergarment. The hood is attached with tape, velcro, or other fasteners which would minimize the choking hazard for infants. The hood may be interchangeably used with other one piece garments which are configured to detachably receive the hood, the hood being adjustable to accommodate different head/neck sizes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns infant undergarments. More particularly, the invention is directed to an undergarment for infants which can temporarily preserve the body heat of an infant while also protecting from UV rays.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Thermal undergarments have long been used by adults and children to enhance the thermal i.e., heat preserving, properties of their various outer garments. These undergarments typically are layered and/or insulated to avoid the use of heavy, uncomfortable, and physically restraining materials such as thick wool. When thermal undergarments are made for infants and babies they are typically made from lighter and more efficient heat retention materials. For years, the traditional infant garment has been a short shirt ending at the waistline. Typically, some type of undergarment, such as a diaper, has also been used for additional protection against soiling. The short shirt is open in the front with two side panels crossing over one another for closing and fastening the shirt shut. Early shirts were shut in the back with ties. These ties were later replaced with snap fasteners. The short shirt allows a cloth diaper to be used, thereby decreasing the possibility of soiling the upper garment and reducing the frequency of laundering. Although rubber or plastic pants can also be used with short shirts, their use has typically been discouraged because they can contribute to improper air circulation and increased susceptibility to the development of rashes.

Another type of traditional undergarment for infants is the undershirt. Undershirts for newborns have front tabs that can be fastened to a cloth diaper with safety pins. This forms a full-length, warm, cloth garment that can be secured in place so as to not ride up on the infant. As disposable diapers were slowly introduced into nurseries in the late 1970s, however, the front tabs have been omitted since potentially hazardous safety pins were no longer necessary.

Currently, undergarments for infants have the same waist-length undershirt with cross-over front panels that snap shut. Such undergarments typically require the use of a separate, disposable diaper. A drawback of these types of garments is that crossing the front panels over and snapping them shut can be confusing and cumbersome. Since the garment is separate from the diaper, another drawback of the infant garment commonly in use today is that the shirt may tend to ride up under the infant's armpits. This unnecessarily exposes portions of the surface of an infant's body and can contribute to a loss of body heat.

One piece undergarments, sometimes known as onesies, provide better thermal regulation when used as undergarments than the typical two piece undergarment. The problem with these undergarments is that they don't provide any protection from heat loss from the head and neck area. While hooded outer garments for infants are well known, hooded undergarments are not.

Therefore, there is a need in the industry for undergarments, especially garments for infants, that more effectively preserve body heat while providing improved protection from harmful UV rays.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatuses and methods according to the various embodiments of the present invention provide a thermal regulating infant safety undergarment. The garment is preferably lightweight but insulating and is essentially a one piece garment. A hood, which may be detachable, which can be elasticized to allow for conformance to the infant's head and to provide a snug fit to enhance the insulating aspect of the undergarment. The hood is attached with snaps, tape, velcro, or other fasteners which would minimize the choking hazard for infants. The hood may be interchangeably used with other one piece garments which are configured to detachably receive the hood. An attachment collar allows for attachment of items of clothing such as a bib, or other small items such as a teething ring. The attachment collar also allows for adjusting the hood to accommodate different head and neck sizes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has a hood.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has a removable hood.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has an adjustable removable hood

It is another object of the invention to provide a thermally insulating infant undergarment which has an attachment collar for attaching small items.

Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the hooded infant undergarment of the present invention with accessories attached.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the hooded infant undergarment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the hooded infant garment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the infant undergarment, generally designated by the numeral 10, is shown. The undergarment 10 includes a torso portion 20 having a lower half characterized by a pair of leg openings 22 which are sized to accommodate an infant's legs, and an upper portion having openings for the infants arms. Thus, the undergarment 10 is a one piece or “onesie” type of garment which is essentially a diaper and undershirt combination as is known in the art. As the undergarment 10 is intended as both a thermal garment and a traditional undergarment, the material for the torso portion 20 is preferably relatively thin, lightweight, and breathable. Cotton may be used as the material for the undergarment 10. The garment 10 may have a UV absorption/reflection aspect to it as will be explained in more detail later. The leg openings 22 are formed by the closure of rear flap 24, which is essentially a crotch piece, the flap 24 having at least a pair of male snap type buttons or snaps 26 for fastening, with the female part of the snap buttons 28 positioned at corresponding positions on the lower end of the torso portion 20.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the undergarment 10 serves as both a thermal regulator of sorts as well as a generally protective barrier. For example, when changing the infant in bright sunlight, snaps 26, 28 can be loosened allowing access to the diaper (which would actually be under the undergarment 10 in this scenario) with the undergarment serving to preserve body temperature while also providing UV protection on areas of the skin which would otherwise be uncovered. In order to enhance the UV barrier aspect of the undergarment 10, the undergarment material can optionally be made from a material with a high SPF rating, but also be soft and supple enough to avoid irritating the skin of the infant.

A key aspect of the invention is the hood attachment 30. The attachment 30 is sized to fit an average infant's head and may optionally be elasticized at least about the perimeter 32 so that the face opening 34 does not allow ambient air to enter the hood 30 and therefore compromise both the thermal and UV protection aspects of the invention. The bottom portion 38 of the hood 30 has a series of regularly spaced attachment members in the form of male snap buttons 40 which are positioned to correspond to respective female buttons 42 positioned atop the attachment collar 43 of the undergarment 10. Thus, the hood 30 is held in place taughtly about the infant's face by the snaps 40, 42, the snaps serving provide an anchor point so that the hood 30 can be pulled up and over the infant's head.

The hood 30 may also be attached by tape or hook and loop type fasteners with a key aspect of the invention being the absence of a drawstring or other tightening/fastening means which might present a choking hazard to the infant. Since the range of sizes for infant heads is relatively limited, the detachability allows the hood 30 to be used with undergarments 10 of different sizes. Indeed, the hood 30 could be used with any undergarment onesie by using tape, velcro, or other fastening means in lieu of snaps 40, 42. Thus, a user may continue to use an old hood 30 after the infant has grown and requires a larger torso portion 20. To further facilitate this, extra snaps are provided to allow for adjusting the fit of the hood 30 as will be explained in more detail later.

In accordance with another key aspect of the invention, items other than hood 30 may be attached to the undergarment. To facilitate this, an accessory or attachment collar 43 has at least a couple of snaps 42 on opposing sides positioned forward of the shoulder area of the garment 10 so that accessories 45 can be positioned on or to the side of the front or forward facing 47 portion of the undergarment 10. Thus, an accessory such as a bib 49 may be suspended from collar 43, the bib being obviously removable. Other useful accessories such as a teething ring 45 may also be suspended from collar 43 to be available for the infant or adult caretaker. In another aspect of the invention, the accessories to be attached to the collar 43, including the hood 30 may be packaged for sale as a UV/thermal “onesie” undergarment assembly, with the understanding that as the infant grows out of the undergarment 10, the attachable items can be transferred to the new larger undergarment via attachment collar 43. The extra snaps 42 also provide a means for adjusting the hood 30. Specifically, the hood 30 may be tightened or loosened by selecting the appropriate snaps 42. For example, loosening the hood 30 is accomplished by using snaps 42 which are closer to the back of the infant, whereas tightening the hood 30 can be done by using snaps which are closer to the infants face.

In use, the undergarment 10 is positioned onto the infant, the undergarment 10 held in place about the infant by fastening snaps 24, 26. The hood 30 is then pulled over the infants head so that the perimeter 32 fits snugly about the infant's face, with the snaps 42 selected to provide the correct fit. Alternatively, the hood 30 may be provided with optional tape or Velcro® tabs so as to be attachable to any onesie formed of a material suitable for use as an undergarment. Items 45 can be attached to the undergarment 10 at any position along the collar 43 where there is a snap 42. It can be appreciated that if hood 30 is removed, additional accessories 45 may be positioned such as e.g., a towel upon which the infant may be positioned when changing diapers.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following 

I claim:
 1. An infant undergarment comprising: a torso portion, the torso portion adapted to conform closely to the body of an infant, arm and leg portions attached to said torso portion; a neck opening formed in said torso portion, said neck opening including an attachment collar with a series of spaced attachment members for receiving a corresponding series of attachment members positioned about the lower perimeter of a hood; the hood removably attached to said torso portion, the hood allowing for conformance to a range of head sizes.
 2. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein said hood may be adjusted for fit by selecting appropriate attachment members.
 3. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein said attachment members are button snaps.
 4. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein said undergarment is made from a highly reflective material.
 5. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein said undergarment is made of a material with a high SPF rating.
 6. A protective undergarment assembly for infants comprising: a single piece undergarment having an upper portion with an attachment collar, said attachment collar having a series of regularly spaced attachment members; a torso portion, the torso portion adapted to conform closely to the body of an infant, arm and leg portions formed on said torso portion; a neck opening formed in said torso portion, said neck opening including said attachment collar with said series of spaced attachment members, said spaced attachment members positioned for receiving a corresponding series of attachment members positioned about the lower perimeter of a hood; the hood removably attached to said torso portion by said attachment members, the hood sized to allow for conformance to a range of head sizes; and, one or more accessories attachable to said attachment member.
 7. The undergarment of claim 6 wherein said hood may be adjusted for fit by selecting appropriate attachment members.
 8. The undergarment of claim 6 wherein said attachment members are button snaps.
 9. The undergarment of claim 6 wherein said undergarment is made from a highly reflective material.
 10. The undergarment of claim 1 wherein said undergarment is made of a material with a high SPF rating. 